Four Professionals in Sports Medicine

From prevention to onsite immediate injury assessment and treatment sports medicine covers it all. From junior high sports to career athlete, the professionals in this field are a part of a network of physicians and assistants who provide expertise from their slightly differing backgrounds to sports and exercise preparations, concerns and injuries. The order of reference that each professional can provide assistance to any novice or professional in fitness or athletics is truly dependent upon one's physical health. First, one's ability to participate in athletic activity has to be assessed by a medical doctor. Second, trainers and massage therapist work with patient's bodies to prevent injuries. Third, physical therapists come into the picture at various stages of a patient's life. They can help the elderly prevent atrophy and help patients who have recently completed surgery to rehabilitate their strength and flexibility. All of these professionals work with each patient to condition their body, prevent injuries, offer treatment and plan recovery with their understanding of the biomechanics of all aspects of the musculoskeletal system. Whether you are a gym fanatic, a swimmer, golfer, biker, hockey star, rodeo clown or winter Olympian, sports medicine plays a role in keeping your performance strong and your body injury free, restored and back in the game.

Lifelong fitness enthusiasts and professional athletes seek the knowledge and applications of sports medicine in order to help their bodies perform and keep them safe at the same time. The medical doctors who specialize in this area are required throughout a patient's life of sports performance. You'd start here for an assessment of your overall health with a physical to determine your cardiovascular, respiratory, bone density health and a combination of other tests to determine your eligibility to perform in moderate to intense physical sport. The medical doctor can also perform the x-rays, examinations, surgical procedures and assign prescriptions for the recovery of any injury. Trainers help athletes as well as beginner, intermediate and advanced persons in fitness get to the level of endurance and strength that balances what they want out of their bodies and what their bodies are capable of doing. The utilize equipment, environmental challenges and a variety of training routines such as boxing, martial arts and swimming to push the entire body. And sometimes training can cause an injury. It is not rare in sports medicine for an athlete or fitness person to become injured outside of sport. This is why regular stretching before and after a workout, proper equipment and even massage therapy help the entire body to perform well, even in prevention of damage to the system.